


Welcome to the Panic Room

by PearlsAndBourbon



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:38:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24950173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PearlsAndBourbon/pseuds/PearlsAndBourbon
Summary: Rio drags Beth on a trip to Ohio for a meeting. It's everything and nothing that she wanted.
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Comments: 17
Kudos: 227





	1. Wherever you go, I'll follow

**Author's Note:**

> Please excuse any typos/errors as I proof read myself! (:
> 
> I am not sure how many chapters this will be, but I hope you all will join me on this journey!
> 
> Let me know what you think.
> 
> Title is from a song called Panic Room by Au Ra.
> 
> For reference, takes place where S3 left off, but I am pretending to ignore the whole hitman plot because I loathe it. lol.  
> This chapter is shorter because I just needed it to set the stage for the next. The next one will be longer!

It all started this morning, when Beth was making crepes and her phone buzzed with a text from Rio, demanding to meet at the bar at 7pm. She was able to convince Annie to watch the kids last minute for a few hours after bribing her with money for pizza. 

She pulled up to Lucky’s and checked the time. She had about five minutes until she had to head in. She opted to stay in her car for a couple more minutes before having to endure the chill of Detroit winter, and blasted her heat while she waited. Beth was exhausted. The last few weeks have been hectic between the success of running Boland Bubbles, keeping the books, washing cash, and printing at Paper Porcupine.She and Rio were on better terms, considering everything they have done to each other within the last year and half. At this point, their interactions were filled with awkward sexual tension, occasional frustration, and avoidance discussing her shooting him three times. Beth took in a deep sigh and checked the time again. She rolled her eyes as she hopped out of her van, and strides towards the bar entrance. 

The bar was quiet with a small crowd, so it was easy to spot him perched up at the bar. His dark eyes rolled over her figure as she approached the bar stool next to him and took a seat. A bourbon on the rocks was placed in front of her by the bartender, and Beth thanked him as he exited. Rio was fiddling with the rings on his fingers and took a sip from his vodka.

“Yo.”

“Hi” Beth responded timidly while offering him a small smile.”So what do I owe the pleasure?” she questioned.

Rio’s lips curled into a quick smirk before it disappeared into a blank expression. “I got another job for you.” 

“What’s that?” she asks.

“You coming with me to Ohio this weekend. Got a meeting.”

“What? The whole weekend?” Beth asks.

“Saturday night and Sunday. Meeting is Sunday, but I don’t really want to fuck around and would rather be early so…”

“Well, I am not sure if I can this weekend. Sarah’s birthday is this weekend and I told Ruby I would help with the party. Plus why do you need me? Take Mick.”

“Yeah that ain’t gonna work. You’re coming, so you better figure it out. Make arrangements and what not.”

Beth scoffs. “That’s not fair. You can’t randomly decide you need me for a weekend two days before you want to leave!”

“Oh, my bad. Thought you said you’d do _anything_ , huh? Are you no longer incentivized?” Rio mocks with a cold tone.

Beth feels a shiver down her spine as she remembers Rio still has that damn gun Mick used to kill Lucy. She closes her eyes shut and lets out a sigh. If there’s one thing she isn’t doing again, it’s going down for a murder she didn’t commit.

“Fine. I’ll get Dean to watch the kids at his mom’s.”

“Oh gee, thanks” Rio responds as he finishes his drink and slams it back on the bar and gets up from the bar stool.

“Wait, are you going to give me more details? When do we leave exactly?”

“Yeah you don’t need to worry bout that. I’ll text you later.” Rio explains as he turns to walk out of the bar.

Beth nurses the rest of her bourbon before heading home. She texted Ruby and explained she has to take a rain-check on Sarah’s birthday without providing much of an explanation.

Beth keeps her mind busy the next two days by spending time with the kids, and treating herself to some retail therapy. Since Rio still has nearly all of her belongings, her closet is rather scarce so she takes a trip to Marshall’s on Friday to find some new clothes she can bring with her this weekend. She doesn’t really know how to pack for this trip to Ohio. What the hell is in Ohio anyway, she ponders while she skims the clothing racks at Marshalls. She happens to throw mainly black sweaters and t-shirts in her cart, considering Rio’s choice of color and assumes she should probably match him and steer away from anything too bold or colorful. Once she feels content enough with her selections, she pushes her cart passing more clothing and dresses to head to the checkout area. While she makes her way out of the women’s clothing section, a dress catches the corner of her eye. It’s navy blue with small white polka dots and with buttons going down the center, identical to her burgundy dress. _That dress_. Her breath hitches as images of that night in the bathroom flood her brain. Without herself noticing, she finds herself gravitating towards the dress. She touches the dress,feeling the material between her fingers, and out of curiosity, checks the size of the dress. It must be destiny because the dress is her size, and it wouldn’t make sense not to get it. Right? She contemplates buying it since she is tight on money to begin with, but the dress _would_ bring out her eyes. Might even earn her another bathroom break. God, she needs to stop thinking like _that_ , as she blushes. This weekend is just business. 

_You, me, we, it's just business._

She tosses the dress into the cart, and heads to the checkout line before she is able to second guess her decision. While she is waiting in line, her phone buzzes with a text from Rio.

_Tomorrow. 9pm. I’ll pick you up._

Beth smirks at her phone, and the more she thinks about it, the more she might be okay with this trip to Ohio for God knows what. She can only imagine what chaotic adventure awaits her.


	2. Unseen Circumstances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth and Rio buckle up for their adventure and hit a roadblock in their plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, friends. Beth and Rio are starting their eventful weekend!
> 
> A massive shout out to mamey2422 for helping beta this chapter and all your feedback. It is greatly appreciated!! <3
> 
> Side notes/Fun Fact: The Cleveland Crime Family is apparently a legitimate gang according to Google.

Saturday morning arrived faster than Beth thought it would. After two cups of coffee, she was able to call Dean and ensure he had everything he needed for the kids for the weekend, and give him a run down of their schedules. She has enough faith in Dean to hope he could manage to keep the kids alive and well for two days without her, or at least Judith could. 

Even though Rio wrecked her plans of attending Sarah’s birthday party the next day, and she was no longer able to help Ruby set up, she still wrapped her present and baked the homemade cake Sarah requested. Beth got lost in baking and allowed the process to consume her thoughts rather than worry about what the weekend might bring, or what mood Rio might be in. Beth had never been stuck in a car with him for more than 30 minutes at a time, and really couldn’t imagine a lengthy car ride with a man of such few words. She finished frosting the cake while she tried to keep her anxious mind distracted.

Once the cake was finished, and the present was wrapped, she headed over to Ruby’s to drop them off. Sarah was pleased to see the cake Beth had created for her. Beth felt a mix of satisfaction and joy seeing Sarah ecstatic for her birthday along with the cake she created. Despite Rio’s effort to ruin her weekend, she wouldn’t allow him to completely derail all of her plans. Beth felt accomplished she was able to participate in Sarah’s birthday, even if in a minor way. Ruby thanked Beth, and once they were alone she began to probe Beth about her weekend plans. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea, B?” Ruby asked with a worried expression and furrowed brows. 

Beth sighed. “I mean, I don’t think I have much of an option. He still has that gun he used on Lucy and it has my fingerprints all over it. I am not getting framed for another murder I didn’t commit. Do you not remember what hell we went through with Boomer? I can’t go through that again. I need to stay on his good side. We are getting along better, and it's one meeting. I will be home by Monday morning. It will be fine. I will have my phone, and I will text you when I can.”

Ruby returned an unimpressed look. “I’m not convinced it’s a great idea, and I don’t trust your gangbanger bff, but I trust you. If you aren’t back by Monday afternoon, I will come to Ohio and drag your ass back myself.” 

Beth offered her a smirk. “It will be fine.”

“Hate you.”

“Hate your face,” Beth responded softly.

Beth left Ruby’s after exchanging goodbyes and wishing Sarah a happy birthday.

She took the rest of the evening to pack her bag for the road trip. Beth had never been to Ohio, let alone ventured outside Detroit prior to traveling to Canada for Rio, so she’s unsure what to pack. It’s Detroit winter, and she assumed it was probably cold in Ohio. Her weather app told her it would be about 20-30 degrees most of the weekend. Fabulous, she thought as she looked at her black sweaters and t-shirts folded and tucked into her overnight bag. Since Rio opted to punish her, and steal all of her stuff, she didn’t have a ton of winter options, but she could make it work. Good thing she went to Marshalls and pulled together some options. Maybe after this trip was over she could convince Rio to return her furniture, or at least some clothing. She borrowed Annie’s beanie and laid it out on the bed next to her black pea coat. Beth wished she had more insight as to what she was getting herself into this weekend, but in Rio-like fashion, she was once again left with minimal details. Beth didn’t know what to wear to a meeting with other gangbangers, or gang leaders for that matter. Rio didn’t even care to disclose who they were meeting with, but once again, she wasn’t surprised. She glanced into her closet, and saw her newest purchase, the navy blue polka dot dress, biting her lip at the thought of wearing it and sucking in a breath.

Would it be too much if she brought it along? Would he even recognize the similarity? He would have to, she thought. The man was more observant than anyone she knew. The dress hung next to the black polka dot dress she wore in an attempt to win back his trust. It kind of worked considering he wasn’t actively trying to kill her anymore, but it was a little too extravagant to wear this weekend. The navy dress was casual enough, and at least ensured she’d look presentable. She folded the navy polka dot dress and placed it gently into her packed bag, along with some sensible nude heels, and some light make up. Realizing she packed rather lightly considering this trip was supposed to be the remainder of the weekend, Beth packed an extra outfit just to be prepared for the unknown. 

She checked the time, and had about two hours before Rio picked her up. She ate a quick dinner consisting of leftovers, and decided to take a hot shower to get ready and calm her nerves. Beth dried her hair, applied an ample amount of make-up and selected the night’s outfit. Comfortable, but cute is what Beth aims for. She feels a desire burning inside her to look good for him. Not only did his attention create butterflies in her stomach, but she was empowered by his energy in a way she never experienced before. She would rather be comfortable for the car ride, so she threw on a pair of jeans, a black sweater that enhanced her assets, and a pair of sneakers. Before she knew it, it’s 8:55pm when her phone buzzed with a text from Rio. 

_Here._

Beth stared at her phone a moment longer, before grabbing her black peacoat from the rack and throwing it on along with Annie’s beanie. She took a quick glance in the mirror at her ensemble, letting out a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding. She’s dressed like _him_ . She looked like _maybe_ , just maybe, she might be able to fit in this world of Rio’s afterall. A part of her wanted to explore the darkness, but could she fully do that without surrendering her own world in the suburbs? Or would she lose herself in the process? Can she maintain a balance of morality within crime? After a moment of introspection, she snapped back to reality.

She grabbed the bag she packed and walked out the front door into the chilly Detroit air, expecting to see the G-Wagon parked against the curb. Except it’s not the G-Wagon, or the Caddy. It's familiar, but it’s not Rio’s...Is that...Mick’s car? 

Beth must look dazed and confused, because Rio rolls down the window.

“Are you coming or what, ma?”

Beth didn’t respond. Instead, she walked toward the car and opened the passenger seat to get in. After settling in and buckling her seat belt, she let out a sigh. 

“Where is your car?”

“Oh my bad. In case you couldn’t tell, we ain’t taking it.” Rio responded with amusement spread across his face, the corner of his lips forming a small smirk.

“That doesn’t answer my question. If you’re dragging me to another state last minute without the ability to say no, you could at least let me know what is going on.” Beth responded. 

At that point, Rio was already driving away, and she could feel his eye roll even though she couldn’t see it through the darkness. He still didn’t answer her questions though. 

“Why aren’t you answering?” Beth asked with frustration lacing her voice.

“Why are you talking so much?” Rio asked with annoyance.

Beth didn’t back down on her interrogation tactics. “Look, I am going to keep asking questions which could make for a pretty unbearable car ride for you. Or you could just use your communication skills and tell me what we are doing.”

Rio’s hands gripped tightly around the steering wheel, and he released a breath before answering. 

“The G-Wagon is too flashy. Don’t wanna stand out too much in the rural part of Ohio we going too. Tryin’ to blend in. Borrowed Mick’s car to mitigate the issue.” Rio explained sternly.

Beth considered this answer, and okay, fair. She heard about the abundance of state troopers on the highways, and the G-Wagon did draw attention, plus there’s no way it’s fuel efficient either. If they were pulled over, she could only imagine how that would go. 

_They're going to want to know what someone like me is doing when someone like you._

Beth felt his response was sufficient enough, and moved on to her next question.

“Why Ohio?”

“You’re full of questions aren’t you, ma?” Rio glanced slightly over to her Beth in the passenger seat.

Beth rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. I feel like there’s nothing in Ohio other than Cedar Point, and I only know that because the kids keep begging to go.”

“I’m looking to expand our cash operation. It would be easy to move funny money through Ohio because their highways are North, South East, West. Pretty much anywhere you wanna go, and you won’t have an issue or have to worry about a border to cross. There’s a gang there, Cleveland Crime Family. We have a meeting with the boss, Valachi.”

Beth was slightly surprised she gained as much information that Rio just offered her. “So, what does that have to do with me? Why did you need me to come? You couldn’t bring your boys to meet a crime family?”

“Valachi wants to meet my partner, and you produce and wash the cash. You ain’t talking at the meeting though, yeah?” he responded simply.

Beth’s heart fluttered at his words. _Partner_. She sucked in a breath, unable to respond. Was he actually acknowledging she had been pulling the weight of the operation for him? A small smile formed on her face. Taking too long to respond, Rio turned his head to examine her. 

“Elizabeth? You hear me?”

Beth withdrew from her thoughts at his raspy voice emphasizing each syllable of her name, and ground to reality once again. “Yeah.” she responded softly

Rio focused back on the road,satisfied with her answer. “Good, cuz school isn’t going back in session for a review lecture.” 

Beth let out a huff and readjusts herself in the passenger seat. An overwhelming silence settled between them for several minutes. The comfortable silence allows Beth to sink deeper into her thoughts. Beth ruminates on Rio’s words . _Partner_ . She tries to decipher the underlying meaning behind the conversation, and behind this weekend trip. Could she ever be more than _just business_? Beth drifted to sleep as she sunk into the seat of the car while staring out the window at the night sky.

Beth was disturbed from her sleep, waking up to Rio cursing under his breath and the sound of the car engine sputtering.

“Shit.”

“What's wrong?” Beth questioned groggily and slightly disoriented, pushing the heels of her hands into her eyes. Before she even had an opportunity to for Rio to explain, the car stalled, then came to a complete stop. Oh. Shit is right, she thought. Frustration was radiating off of Rio, who was aggressively tapping his phone screen and sending a text message. Well, _trying_ to send a text.

“Shit. Do you have service?” Rio asked as he whipped his head to Beth, agitation expanding through his features. His eyes begin to narrow, and his jaw rocking before he clenches it back together as he lets out an audible sigh.

Beth pulls her phone out of her coat pocket and assesses the situation. Great, no bars. She looked around, and saw they were on the side of a country road in what looked like the middle of nowhere. She wondered how long they had been driving because they had been on the highway when she dozed off. 

“No, I don’t have service either. How did you run out of gas? Did you not check to see how much gas Mick had before opting to go on a road trip?” She said to Rio, who looked incredibly disgruntled. 

“Mick mentioned that the gas gauge on this car ain’t working right, but he said he filled up two days ago and told me I should be good. I was thinking about getting gas before we got to the hotel, but I haven’t passed a gas station in a while… so….” 

Rio’s hands brushed his beard and cupped his face with irritation. Throwing open the car door, he popped the hood and began playing with the fuse box in hopes of magically starting the car. 

“Fuck.”

“Why would you take a car that has a broken gas gauge?” Beth asked coldy, with brows furrowing as she got out of the car into the icy Ohio air and slammed the car door with more force than was necessary. 

“Oh, my bad, do you not remember what I already said about why we didn’t take my car?” He shouted in a dismissive tone as he slammed the hood of the car, and kicked the bumper out of anger.

“Where is the nearest gas station? Did you check in the trunk for a gas can or something?” Beth questioned.

“Pop it” he demanded. 

Beth let out a deep breath and opened the car door, lifting the lever to pop the trunk. It was so cold she could see her own breath form into a small cloud in the air. And then, if freezing cold wasn’t enough, in that exact moment it started snowing. Rio moved swiftly to the back of the car, pulling out the empty gas can from the trunk, letting out a growl.

Beth considered their current circumstances, and yes they weren’t ideal, yes she hated the cold, but it kind of felt good to not be the center of Rio's shit list. Usually, she was his source of annoyance and frustration, but Mick was taking one for the team today.

Beth leaned against the car as she watched Rio pace around the road waving his phone in the air trying to find service, occasionally restarting it. It had been only a few minutes, but time moved in slow motion as the cold air began to dig needles into her skin. She thought she was dressed for the weather, but she assumed wrong. She checked her useless phone home screen to see the temperature. Ten degrees Fahrenheit. Which, okay, the weather app was wrong from when she checked earlier, or Ohio weather was that unpredictable. Probably a mix of both she thought to herself. Knowing the actual temperature somehow caused her to feel even colder, and a shiver ran down her spine. She was becoming more and more agitated by the minute, watching Rio trying to get phone service, annoyed that the usually prepared Rio chose this moment to slip up. There was no traffic on the street, and the only light in the black of the night came from the occasional lamp posts that followed the curve of the road.They needed to just form a plan already.

Beth was losing every ounce of patience. She could be at home in her warm bed, nursing a bourbon, taking a warm bath, or watching Real Housewives if she hadn’t been dragged into this disaster of a trip precisely an hour and a half ago. If this foreshadowed how the remainder of the trip was going to go, she wanted zero part in it. She didn’t sign up to become stranded in Ohio, or die of hypothermia. Out of all the ways she considered being taken out lately, this was not one of them. Finally, she snapped. All her patience vanished into the frigid air.

“Maybe if you paid your employees a respectable cut, they could get a new car, or at least fix their current one!” Beth shouted, her voice dripping with irritation, her foot stomping into the snow.

Rio froze and turned to her. If looks could kill, Beth might as well drop dead right then, because his face was purely feral. 

“Do you wanna be on payroll, or would you rather go back to working for free? Don’t test your limits.”

If she wasn't on his shit list before, she was now. Beth sucked in a breath and rolled her eyes.

Rio picked up the gas can he’d thrown the snow, and started storming down the road. Beth walked swiftly to catch up to him. 

“Are we walking to the gas station? How far is it?” as she yelled. 

“I'm sorry, what part of ‘I don’t have service’ don’t you understand? Do you think I am a human GPS? No. We keep walking ‘til we find one or get service.”  
  


“Well what happens if we miss the meeting?”

“Meeting’s tomorrow night, 8 o’clock.” 

Beth didn't like the plan, but she really didn’t have much of an option at this point. She let out a breath. At least the meeting wasn’t until the next night, and Rio couldn’t hold missing it against her or find a new cruel way to punish her. They continue to walk into the darkness as the silence became louder between them. She wasn’t sure what the remainder of the weekend would bring, but she was praying these unseen circumstances weren’t foreboding their plans for meeting with another gang. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are we feeling?!?!
> 
> Let me know what you guys think. If you leave a comment or kudos, I appreciate you guys! I love reading your feedback!
> 
> If you want to pop by and say hi, I am on Tumblr too!   
> pears-and-unsaid-words

**Author's Note:**

> How are we feeling?!?!?!
> 
> If you leave kudos and comments, I appreciate you! I love to read them. 
> 
> If you want to come say hi, I am on tumblr too! pearls-and-unsaid-words


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